


Half My Heart To Make You Whole

by KatieComma



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: 1x01 Rewrite, Angst, But Mac/Nikki Plays a Big Part In the Story, F/M, Fluff, M/M, MacDalton Is Endgame, Soulmate AU, Soulmate AU - Healing Touch, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28948809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieComma/pseuds/KatieComma
Summary: Prompt: the touch of a soulmate can heal you from affliction and vice versa.Jack pulls Mac out of the water after he's shot at Como, and something amazing happens.
Relationships: Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Nikki Carpenter/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Orianess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orianess/gifts).



Jack’s head hurt so bad he wasn’t sure where he was.

He opened his eyes and found himself looking at the rear of their unmarked van, doors thrown wide, Nikki’s equipment blinking at him.

The dark road was otherwise empty, and Jack forced himself to power through the sharp pain at the back of his head to get to his feet.

His gun had been kicked away, and he grabbed it from the edge of the road near the wall, checking the magazine, which was still full.

“Mac!” Jack called out, holding his gun up and trying not to close his eyes to the pain in his head. “Nikki!” The last thing he could remember was being ambushed by some shady Brit who’d held Nikki hostage for the nasty glowing canister of biological whatever that they’d been sent to retrieve.

Neither of his partners answered him. Comms were fuzzy. He did a quick survey of the van and found it empty.

Jack wandered back down the road, looking for any signs of where they’d gone. Maybe the guy had taken them along with the canister.

And then Jack heard it. Faint. Splashing in the water over the side of the bridge.

Weapon first, Jack leaned over the edge.

Someone was treading water. Someone wearing a bright white shirt; Jack could see their shoulders bobbing up to the surface and then under again as they struggled.

“Mac! Nikki!” Jack called. He didn’t care anymore if any of the bad guys heard him, he needed to find his team. Needed to bring everyone home safe.

The figure below glanced up for a second, but in the dark it was too hard to see. And then Jack heard a spluttered “Ja-“ before the person slipped back under the surface.

Even that little bit was enough; it was Mac for sure. Jack ran down the bridge to the closest side and hopped over onto the grassy hill that led him down to the water. He tossed his gun into a bush before he rushed into the water. His head protested, pounding and sending pain through his skull like lightning strikes. But Jack didn’t care. Mac needed him.

He swan out into the little river, thank god there was barely any current.

But Mac didn’t resurface.

Jack looked up to see if he could remember where he’d spotted him from, and swam as close as he could figure, carefully feeling out in the water in front of him. The water was cold, and he felt numbed by it, which definitely wasn’t helping his throbbing head wound.

Jack saw a flash of white under the water in the moonlight and dived down for it. He got a handful of fabric and pulled until there was a person in his arms. Then he kicked back to the surface and gulped in air. His head ached and pounded, but Jack swam back to the shore where he’d stashed his gun.

When he got back to land he choked off a pained little breath when he saw it was Mac in his arms. Pale, cold, dead-looking Mac.

“No!” Jack yelled, dragging Mac up onto the shore. “Not like this damnit!”

Mac’s shirt was bloodstained, despite being in the water, and there was a hole in the bright white shirt right over his heart. Jack ripped the shirt open and saw the wound was actually a bit higher.

Mac coughed suddenly, his lungs blowing out water. Jack tipped Mac onto his side so he could get it all out.

“Oh god…” Mac coughed. “Can’t breathe.”

“I got you Mac,” Jack said, feeling certain that they were too far from help, that this was it. “Don’t you worry one little bit man. I got you.”

“Jack…” Mac heaved again, but there was no more water in him.

Jack rolled him onto his back again.

“Can’t breathe!” Mac wheezed, eyes wide and desperate as he grabbed at Jack’s forearms.

Jack pressed down over the chest wound. He hadn’t seen an exit wound in the shirt when he’d turned Mac over. That damn bullet was still rumbling around inside him and doing all sorts of damage. But he needed to stop the bleeding, so he pressed down with all his might and hoped that someone was on their way to help them.

Mac clutched tightly at Jack’s forearms, fingers scrabbling as though somehow he could hold onto life.

Jack’s head throbbed, but it was a dull background pain to the prospect of losing Mac. After all they’d seen together. All they’d been through.

Mac’s fingers stopped scratching at him, and dropped away.

Jack closed his eyes, afraid to watch it happen, letting himself be cowardly just once.

“Jack,” Mac’s voice was clear; no wheezing. And then his hand was back, touching Jack softer this time, no desperation.

Jack opened his eyes and looked down. Mac was watching him, something like awe in his eyes. And then he smiled! He actually smiled! Jack wondered if Mac had reached that place beyond pain, right before dying. He’d seen it happen to men before in combat.

“Move your hands Jack,” Mac pointed at his chest.

Mac’s gushing blood felt warm under Jack’s palms.

“I can’t Mac,” Jack almost sobbed. “I can’t. You’ll die.”

Mac shook his head and his smile widened. “I don’t think so.” He reached up and pried Jack’s hands away.

Jack tried to fight him a little, but the aching in his head and the bone-deep weariness of the anticipation of loss had weakened him. “Mac,” he did sob this time. “You’ll die.”

Jack looked at the wound in Mac’s chest, but it wasn’t bleeding anymore. And yet, Mac still looked up at him, his heart must still be beating. 

And then the most amazing thing happened.

The bullet surged right up out of the wound, pushed by Mac’s healing skin. And within moments, there was nothing left but an X-marks-the-spot looking scar.

Jack ran his fingers over the little scar, still bright pink with healing. “Ok, I’ve got a little bit of a head wound right now,” he said. “So I think you might have to explain what in the hell is goin’ on here hoss.”

Mac sat up easily, as though he hadn’t just been shot and almost drowned. “A head wound?” He asked, smiling wide. “I think I can help you with that actually.” His fingers slid along Jack’s cheek and around the back of his skull.

And then Jack felt the most wonderful warmth. Like sitting in front of a fire on a cold winter day. It started at his wound, the pain intensifying for a moment, and then suddenly the pain was gone. Mac’s fingertips slid across undamaged scalp that didn’t even feel bruised, let alone broken and bleeding.

And as the pain cleared, so did Jack’s brain. “No,” he said, feeling his jaw drop open.

Mac’s smiled widened a little more until his teeth showed, and he nodded.

“How in the actual hell did we not know about this before now?” Jack asked. “After all the shit we been through. After the army and…”

“Does it matter?” Mac asked. He pulled with the hand that was still at the back of Jack’s head and set their foreheads together.

“No, it don’t matter Mac,” he said. And then something soured his thoughts and he sat back. “We gotta find Nikki. What happened while I was out?”

Mac’s face creased with concern and he looked back down to the river. “He shot her,” he said. “In the chest. Like me.” He looked back up to the bridge. “She fell over the edge. You didn’t see her?”

Jack jumped to his feet, feeling like a brand new man with energy to spare. He held a hand out and pulled Mac up to standing.

“I didn’t see anyone else,” Jack said. “Just you man.”

They walked up and down the bank anyway, trying to see if she’d been able to get out of the water. But there was no sign.

“I’ll be right back,” Mac bolted back up to the top of the bridge.

Jack kept looking, keeping his gun handy.

Mac came back down. “I called in. There’s a team on the way. They’re going to dredge the river. To look for…” His face creased with grief.

Jack stepped close and pulled Mac into a one-armed hug. Just because Mac and Jack were soulmates, didn’t mean Mac hadn’t loved Nikki. Love wasn’t reserved for soulmates. Jack knew that well enough from a lifetime of heartbreak.

“It’s alright man,” Jack said, wishing that a soulmate could take more than physical pain. He wanted nothing more in the world than to pull the emotional anguish out of Mac at that moment.

The team didn’t take long. With a big mission like the one they were on, there was always a tac team on standby in the vicinity for emergencies. They worked quick, using all sorts of fancy gear to check the river. But they found nothing.

Jack stood there with Mac, staying close, while the team checked and then checked again at Mac’s insistence.

“We’ll work our way down the river, but it’s going to take a while,” the team lead said. “You guys need to get out of here. Out of the country. The jet’s waiting.”

“I can’t just leave,” Mac argued.

Jack wrapped a hand around Mac’s arm. “Mac he’s right,” he admitted. “You’re soakin’ wet and half naked. We need to get you inside.”

“I’ll be fine,” Mac said to Jack through gritted teeth. “You’re here. I’ll be fine.”

The team lead looked at them a little confused. “I have to insist,” the guy said. “Director Thornton’s orders. She’s waiting for you at the jet.”

Mac growled out an angry sound, pulled his arm away from Jack and stormed back up the bank.


	2. Chapter 2

Nikki was caught. 

DSX was shut down.

Riley was out of prison for good (pending good behaviour).

They’d created a new agency: The Phoenix Foundation.

And Jack felt like he could take his first breath in days. It had been a rollercoaster, no question.

They sat on Mac’s back deck and drank beers. Mac, Jack, Riley and Thornton. And it felt easy and good and right.

There was a part of Jack that hurt. Nikki had been a friend, a colleague. She’d put them in danger because she was an ambitious young agent. She’d got Mac shot. Jack was torn up about her inside. But at least now she was behind bars. She needed to pay for what she’d done to Mac.

Thornton made her excuses and left after one beer.

Riley followed not long after, wanting to get settled into the new apartment the agency had set up for her. Probably excited to have her own space that wasn’t a locked cell for the first time in a while.

Mac and Jack were alone. They had a couple hours at least until Bozer was done his shift flipping burgers.

Jack was nervous. It had been just over three months since they’d learned they were soulmates. And they hadn’t talked much about it. They hadn’t told anyone. Mac had been grieving for Nikki. And Jack had respected that and given him space. Nikki hadn’t been some little fling. Her and Mac had dated for about two years. Things had seemed serious right up until the end. Serious for Mac at least.

Despite being soulmates, nothing had changed between them. They were best friends. Jack was at Mac’s all the time. And if that was all Mac wanted to give him, Jack was prepared to accept that. He’d come to terms with that. Of course he hoped for more, but expected nothing.

“You alright man?” Jack asked.

Mac laughed. “I’m getting there,” he replied, meeting Jack’s eye.

“Good,” Jack replied, sipping at his beer. “I just worry about you is all.”

Mac smiled. “I know you do,” he said. “You know… I worry about you too, right?”

“‘Course,” Jack said. “Never a doubt in my mind.”

“Jack,” Mac sighed, “we need to talk.”

Those were the words Jack had been dreading to hear. He had been waiting for Mac to tell him that he wanted to be reassigned. That being close to Jack every day was too much. That he needed more space.

“Yeah, ok,” Jack said, his voice tight with nervousness.

“Jack?” Mac raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, dude?” Jack asked, holding his breath.

“Relax, would you?” Mac smiled at him again, those stupid beautiful blue eyes twinkling.

Jack obeyed, letting out the air he was holding in his lungs and allowing his muscles to relax. “Yeah, alright.”

“We need to talk about…” Mac motioned between them. “This… soulmate thing.”

It was the first time either of them had said it out loud since Como. Or even really acknowledged it. Except for when Jack had touched Mac to heal his scrapes and scratches during the last mission without a word.

“Yeah, I know Mac and I just-”

Mac smiled and cut him off. “Hold on. Hold on. When I said ‘we’ need to talk, I meant I need to talk first, ok?” But he still seemed happy. “Just let me…” He started over the way he did sometimes when his mouth got ahead of his thoughts. “I have a few things I want to say, ok?”

Jack just nodded.

“The last few months have been tough,” Mac admitted. “When I thought Nikki was dead…” He swallowed hard. “It hurt. A lot.” He paused and took a sip of his beer. “My parents weren’t soulmates. Too many people don’t meet their soulmate, you know? So I was raised to think that you should make the best of the people you _do_ meet. And not sit around waiting for your soulmate to show up. And that’s what I was doing. I thought Nikki was it, you know? I thought she was the one. I could share the spy stuff with her. And we got along so well. Lots in common. I was really committed. All in.”

Jack nodded, but didn’t say anything. He knew exactly what Mac meant. He’d felt that way with Diane before he’d gotten spooked and took off.

“So it wasn’t something I was just going to get over, overnight,” Mac said. “And you got that. I know you did. Because you didn’t push. Gave me space. Let me grieve that life I’d been planning in my head.” Mac smiled a sad smile. “And it just shows that you _are_ my soulmate you know? Cause you knew exactly what I needed. Just like you always have.”

The silence carried between them, interrupted only by the crackling fire. Jack let it carry because it was comfortable. He’d always thought that it was because they’d served together. When you serve with someone you have to get used to those silences, because you’re with each other all the time day in and day out. You can’t talk the whole time, so you slip into this comfortable silence. But it never felt the same with Mac as it did with the other soldiers. Jack finally knew why that was.

“But you need to stop Jack,” Mac said firmly.

“Stop?” Jack asked. “Stop… what?”

“Stop giving me space,” Mac said, dead serious. “I’ll never be over it entirely. Especially not with what we know about Nikki now. But I need to move on. And we’ve spent too many years side by side and not together.” A sad smile curled up one corner of his mouth. “I feel like we wasted so much time and I don’t want to waste any more.”

“It wasn’t wasted Mac,” Jack said earnestly, sliding over a little and closing some of the space between them. “None of it was wasted. You’re my best friend. I don’t regret a single day I spent with my best friend. Not’a’one.” Jack grinned and raised an eyebrow. “Well… ‘cept maybe-”

“Don’t say Cairo,” Mac laughed, rocking back a little.

Jack laughed in return and held up his hands as though in surrender. “Hey, you said it not me.”

“You’re right,” Mac said when his laughter subsided. “I don’t regret any of it. But now I want more.”

Jack swallowed heavily. “I wasn’t sure…”

“Well I’m telling you now Jack. That’s what I want,” Mac said. “What do _you_ want?”

Jack felt a tear tumble down his cheek. “Just you Mac. Whatever you’ll give me.”

Mac reached out and wrapped his hand around the back of Jack’s neck, fingers finding exactly the same place he’d healed that night. He pulled a little. “Come here Jack.”

Jack closed the rest of the space between them so their legs were pressed together.

Mac moved forward and put their foreheads together just like at Como. But now there was nothing to come between them, or draw them apart.

Keeping the soft pressure at the back of Jack’s neck, Mac pressed their lips together.

It was soft and perfect for the beginning of something. And as soon as their lips met Jack knew that it was right. Something in his soul fell into place and he felt whole for the first time in his life. And he knew without a doubt that he was exactly where he was supposed to be.


End file.
